You’re a Hermeticist? What’s that?

What’s a Hermeticist? Someone who studies or practices Hermeticism, which is a philosophy based on the teachings of the mythical figure Hermes Trismegistus.”

Hermeticists believe that there are certain universal, timeless truths (“the Perennial Wisdom”) which have always been, and will always be, accessible anyone through the powers of symbol, parable, analogy, myth and initiation. Hermeticism is, in the words of the great Valentin Tomberg, the search for the “communal soul of religion, science, and art.”

But, more importantly, Hermeticism seeks to infuse all human endeavor with sacredness — to align all human activity with the Divine Will. This idea is embodied in the great Hermetic axiom, “As Above, So Below.”

On an individual level, Hermeticists strive to unify thoughts, desires, actions and beliefs — to behave in accordance with beliefs, to speak the truths of the heart, to turn desires toward what the intellect knows is right — which is exemplified in the Hermetic Quaternary: “To Know, To Will, To Dare; To Keep Silent.”